Bitcoin SV gets Bitkey user database from Unwriter

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Unwriter can’t ignore a potential opportunity to improve the Bitcoin SV (BSV) ecosystem; he just has to take action. He did it again on November 12 when he announced Bitkey, a global decentralized user database for Bitcoin, stored on BSV.

The anonymous developer first published this new database on Twitter on Tuesday, giving a brief explanation of the database and linking to its webpage:

Today I'm releasing Bitkey, a global decentralized user database for bitcoin, stored on bitcoin.https://t.co/qW1jQrx1t6

— _unwriter (@_unwriter) November 12, 2019

So what is Bitkey? Quite simply, it’s a database that stores a user’s Paymail address and public key in a more efficient manner. This accomplishes two goals: developers can query and parse data more efficiently, reducing burden on their applications; and users gain the chance to build a reputation through consistent use of a Paymail or public key.

In the documentation of the new database, Unwriter wrote about the need for this service:

Every paymail account can have many public keys.

And because of this, whenever we post a signed message to the blockchain, we need to attach both the Paymail address AND its public key (watch the video below to learn more).

Every message contains the SAME “Paymail” AND “Public Key” fields EVERTYTIME.

This is redundant.

Through the Bitkey database, applications can chose to either verify a user through their Paymail orsn their public key, querying Bitkey to verify their identity, saving space by not having to store both pieces of information. Users can confirm their identity for free by swiping a Money Button on the Bitkey website.

As is typical with new Unwriter releases, he provided a full explainer of the protocol and how to work with it. He also outlined some benefits that come out of using Bitkey and potential uses, including reverse lookup, bulk queries, and the ability to build a history of public keys for a Paymail.

Users did raise some concerns if this would remove potential privacy from using the service, but as users can always generate new public keys and not register them with Bitkey at all, this is not much of a concern. As one Twitter user noted:

You only use it for things you want to be globally recognized for, so people can confirm it's really you. Good for building a #reputation.

— Taylor Ellsworth u/4205 (@freedomFunder) November 12, 2019

This handy new addition to the BSV ecosystem comes just a few weeks after his last creation, the su Bitcoin authentication protocol. That protocol was designed to make Bitcoin authentications simpler, or in his words “just work.”